The Beloved - Happiness

Among the first wave of British indie bands to trade in their tunnel- vision guitars for a more expansive dance sound after the acid house revolution, The Beloved were well ahead of the pack in their new direction. Jon Marsh's inspired use of Balearic beats, house synthesisers and lush harmonics are welded together by subtle guitars Not for nothing has "The Sun Rising", all glistening keyboards, backwards guitar and dazed, ethereal vocals, achieved near-mythical status. This is the sound of a craftsman taking the simplistic acid motif and honing it, decorating it, trying to make the perfect indie-dance hybrid and succeeding nearly every time. The daisy age lyrical gloss is never too syrupy; the hippy sentiments are more loved-up than cracked up and make this feel-good album feel even better. All that and they even manage to rhyme "Jean-Paul Sartre" with "Jeffrey Archer". --Ben Clancy

1. Hello
2. Your Love Takes Me Higher
3. Time After Time
4. Don't You Worry
5. Scarlet Beautiful
6. Sun Rising
7. I Love You More
8. Wake Up Soon
9. Up Up And Away
10. Found

Download here: Happiness